what is "kochschokolade

Cooking chocolate. However, and this is especially true given that you're doing icing, do *NOT* buy "baking chocolate" as is packaged in the US - the stuff that comes in 1-oz roughly square chunks wrapped in paper and then in a cardboard box. The most common brand, Baker's is as I've said numerous times, so bad I wouldn't even use it to kill the neighbour's dog, and virtually all the other brands are also quite poor, not to mention low in cocoa butter which will give your icing a poor texture.

Instead, buy a decent-quality bar chocolate - and you can pick your intensity to suit. As a general guideline, 50% cocoa solids is mild and sweet, 60% is strong but sweet, 70% is strong and powerful, 85% is strong, and aggressively un-sweet, and of course 100% is very strong indeed. None of these, btw, need be bitter.

If you wanted to stay German, Feodora's 75% is an exceptionally good chocolate, delicate in flavour and smooth in the German style. Hachez' Arriba 77% is also not too bad, although for its percentage decidedly on the mild side. However, it will give an extremely smooth texture to your -- Alex Rast (remove d., .7, not, and .NOSPAM to reply)